Locking clothes-rack.



No. 863,726. PATEN'IIID AUG. zo. 1907. P. 1I. KNoWLToN & I.. WILLIAMS.

LOCKING CLOTHES RACK. Ar'PLIoA'I-Ion FILED rms. 16,1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. I' W TNEss 'U INVENToRs t, m Pmnowvfm LWHHEITX M2M? r PATENTED AUG.20, 1907'. P. H. KNOWLTON & L, WILLIAMS.

LOCKING CLOTHES RACK. APPLIoATloN mmm IEB. 1H, 19o?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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INVENTORJS P- H- K rjQwHo n W I TNESSES I .Wxllsams UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

n, PI-IIL H. KNOWLTON AND LOUIS WILLIAMS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

LOCKING CLOTHES-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

To all 'whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, PHIL H. KNOWLTON and LOUIS WniLrAMs, citizens of1the United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county ofDenver and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Locking Clothes-Racks, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to locking clothes-racks and has for its object toprovide a device which combines simplicity of construction withpracticability in use and by which the suspended clothes, such as hatsand coats, may be locked against removal by unauthorized persons.

We attain our object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in the various views of which like parts are similarlydesignated and in which, .A

Figure 1-represents a front elevation or face view of the device, Fig.2-a rear elevation thereof, Fig. 3-a vertical section taken along a line3 3, Fig. 2, Fig. 4-a rear elevation of the device with its operatingparts in the open or'unlocked position, Fig. 5-a vertical section takenalong a line 5*-5, Fig. 4, Fig. 6- a top view of the casing, Fig. -across section along a line 7-7, Fig. 4, Fig. 8-a sectional fragmentaryview of the casing showing the interior of the key sheath, Fig. 9Manedge view of the latter, Fig. 10-a cross section along the line 10-10,Fig. 9, and, Figs. 11-12-respectively-a face and edge view of thekeymember.

In the drawings, 5 represents a casing composed of a plate `G and asurrounding flange 7 and adapted to be secured to a wall by means ofscrews 8. Casing 5 is provided with two centrally disposed, verticallyalined, hook members 9 and 10 including curved, outwardly ranging arms9a and 10a which terminate in, in practice, diametrically alined,spherical knobs or heads 9 and 10.

Hook 9 is iixedly secured upon the lower portion of the casing by screws11 or analogous fastening means while the arm 10a of the opposite member10 forms part of a slide 12 which, projecting through a centrally andvertically disposed slot 13 in the plate 6 and the upper portion of theiiange 7, is arranged to move reeiprocatingly in relation to thestationary member 9. Slide 12 has an integral, downwardly rangingextension or tail piece 12 which, when the member is in its uppermostposition, covers the slot 13.

A bar 14 movably held within the easing in a suitably arranged seat 15is secured at its upper extremity, to thel slide 12 by means of screws16, while its lower extremity 141 being bent at right angles to the mainbody, is connected with the uppermost portion of the surrounding fiange7, of the casing, by means of a vertically. extending, helically woundspring 17. The bar 1.4 is provided with a rack 18, the teeth of which,

cut in one of its edges, are ratchet shaped, and furthermore, with anelongated notch 19 cut in the edge of the bar in adjacency to the upperextremity of the rack.

A bell crank lever 20 is fulcrumed within the casing at 21, its lowerarm being normally in engagement with the rack 18 while its other,shorter, arm has a knife edged extremity, situated below the verticallyarranged key sheath 22. The latter being detachable upon the plate 6 ofthe casing, extends through a correspondingly shaped opening in theupper portion of the flange 7 and is provided in one of its sides, inproximity to its lower edge, with two or more rows of circular apertures23 axially alined with correspondingly shaped recesses 24 in the innersurface of the opposite side.

Pins 25, placed in the holes and recesses of the sheath, are designed tointerrupt progress of any instrument other than the appropriatelyfashioned key, inserted in the sheath for the purpose of actuating theoperating mechanism.

The permutation lock thus obtained may, by interchanging of the pins, bemade suitable to any one of a number of differently shaped keys, such asillustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, composed oi a flat shank 26, having anintegral head 26n and provided at its lower edge with one or more,longitudinally extending slots 26, which permit the key member tostraddle one or more of the transverse pins 25 in the sheath.

A recess 26d in one of the longitudinal edges of the key, is arranged toregister with a correspondingly shaped opening 27 in thev inner edge ofthe sheath, when the operating mechanism of the device is in the open orunlocked position, as shown in Fig. 4.

A lever 28, whose extremities 28a and 28, extend in opposite directionsat an angle to the main body, is fulcrumed upon plate 6 of the casing,intermediate the sheath 22 and the reciprocating bar 14.

When the movable parts of the device are in the open state, and the bar14 is consequently in its uppermost position, with the extension 14a inengagement with the lower surface of the seat 15, the extremities 28nand 28c of the lever 28 occupy, respectively, the registering aperture27 and recess 26d in the sheath and key, and the notch 19, in the bar,in which position it is retained by a coiled spring 29, secured to thecasing at 30 and engaging with one of its extremities, an upwardlyranging lug 23d on the lower arm of the lever 28. The opposite arm 29ELof the spring 29, engages simultaneously, an upwardly extendingprojection or pin 20a, on the long arm of the bell-crank 20, which, whenthe movable hook member is in the raised position, is, by reason of theengagement of the lower edge of the key with the extremity of its shortarm, out of engagement with the teeth of rack 1S.

When it is desired to lock a hat, coat or other garment, suspended fromthe lower stationary hook-member 9, the operator depresses the raised,movable hookmember 10 until it engages the clothes, after which heremoves the key from the sheath. During the downward movement of theslide 12, and the thereto attached bar 14, the extremity 2Sc of thelever 28 is, by engagement with the sloping edge oi the notch 19,gradually forced outwardly with the result that the opposite projection2S is carried out o the recess 26d, of the key member 26. The action oithe arm 29, oi the coil spring 29, upon the lever 20, now causes thelatter' to engage the teeth of the rack and the slide 12 will, inconsequence, be held at any elevation, the moment the pressure upon thehook 10 is released.

To unlock the device, the key is inserted in the sheath, to engage theupper extremity of the bell-crank 20, which on being depressed, isbrought out of engagement with the rack, with the result that the slidel2, impelled by the contracting spring 17, moves upwardly to resume itsoriginal position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the engagement of the bentextremity 14 with the lower surface oi the seat l5, preventing furtheraction of the spring. The lever 28, being once more in engagement withthe notch 26d, of the key member, locks the latter against withdrawal,and simultaneously holds the bellcrank lever 20 out oi engagement withthe rack.

It will thus be observed that our improved rack may 'be employed withequal results, to lock several articles ot' clothing or any one of them,that to release these articles, one must possess the appropriatekey,'and that when the rack is not in use and the movable hook is in theraised position, the key is locked within its sheath. Having thusdescribed our invention what we claim isz- 1. The combination with acasing of a hook-member lixed thereon, a locking member having a linear,reciprocating movement in relation to the latter and extending into thecasing, its internal portion having a plurality of serrations, a keysheath extending into the casing,. a key member adapted to projecttherethrough, a bell crank lever, one of its arms extending below thesheath to be engaged by the protruding extremity of the key and itsother arm being in yielding contact with the serrations, and anactuating medium adapted to distance the locking member from the hookmember, when disengaged by the bell crank lever.

2. The combination with a casing of a hook member fixed thereon, alocking member having a linear, reciprocating movement in relation tothe latter and extending into the casing, its internal portion having alaterally open notch, a key sheath having an aperture intermediate itsextremities, a spring-actuated lever pivoted intermediate of its lengthand located between the key sheath and the locking member, itsextremities projecting respectively through the said aperture and intothe notch when the locking member is remote from the hook member, a keymember within the sheath having a notch normally in register with theaperture and means engaging the edge of the locking member for holdingthe locking member in its locked position, said means being controlledby the key.

3. The combination with a casing having a key passage, ot' a hook-memberiixed thereon, a locking-member having a linear, reciprocating movementrelative to the latter and extending into the casing, its internalportion having a plurality of sel-rations and a superposed notch, alnotched key-member adapted to he inserted into the passage, abell-crank lever normally in engagement with the said sei-rationsandlarranged to be engaged by the'l inserted key-member, a lever, itsextremities respectively engaging the notches in the key and thelocking-member, while the latter is remote from the hook-member, aspring arranged to simultaneously actuate the two levers, and a springtending to distance the locking-member from the hook-member. v f

In testimony whereof they have affixed their signatures in presence oftwo witnesses.

PHIL H, KNOWLTON. LOUIS WILLIAMS.

Witnesses G. J. ROLLANDET, K. M. STUMP.

